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Darol Wester

Darol Wester

Professional
Pro
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
989
Location
Fort Jones, California
I was looking for something to do when work was slow last year, so I decided to rebuild a flathead. I found it under a tree with one frozen head. After tearing it down and a little research, I found that it is a 1947 Mercury 59ab block with later crank, rods, cam and pistons in it. Anyway, it was an interesting project that gave me something to do. Just finished and running great on an engine test stand we built out of an old pickup front end. The motor will go into a 1952 F-1 pickup.

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Jon said:
and how many hours did you spend on that?
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Hard to tell Jon. I started it about a year ago, and in the middle of that, we moved. So that stuffed it on the shelf, kinda like Daris was saying, and then it was time waiting for boiling, magnafluxing, crank grind, etc. These things cost a fair bit more to rebuild compared to some newer motors, but worth it in the end. They are amazing little motors.

That's how I learned to fix them, by breaking them.:D
 
DarisMulkin said:
SWEET !! I bet it was fun finding parts. I wouldn't have the patience anymore. I can start projects then put them away for awhile before I'm in the mood to work on it again.

Daris
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Actually, the rebuild parts were found at Speedway Motors. A great online parts house. If you have the empty block and heads, they have most everything else.$$$:) I was lucky. This motor was still standard bore. It was like someone took it out 50+ years ago to do something and there it sat. Nice/LUCKY find.
 
I like the fact that you are doing such a neat job making it a clean looking engine instead of just slapping it together.
I had a friend that put a new cam in his old Camaro. He tossed all the dirty, gritty bolts from the manifold and rocker covers, water pump and timing cover into a coffee can. A few days later when I stopped by after work, he was re-installing the dirty, gritty bolts. eeew!
Looks really nice, Darol.
 
Floorist said:
Did you mill the heads? It can up the horses on a flathead.
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No we didn't. We just went stock on this one. We've got 6 more to play with and probably the next one we'll soup up some. Got some Edelbrock heads and intake for two deuces and a set of headers for it t'boot.

highup said:
Did you get the engine stand in the first image from Caterpillar or Freightliner? :D
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It's not light weight is it?:D We started out with it hanging from the rear of the block, but heard stories of a complete engine falling to the ground from old block issues, so we welded a bracket to mount it from the exhaust ports. Much more stable. Playing it safe.

This could be what we're leading up to. :D

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Darol Wester said:
No we didn't. We just went stock on this one. We've got 6 more to play with and probably the next one we'll soup up some. Got some Edelbrock heads and intake for two deuces and a set of headers for it t'boot.



It's not light weight is it?:D We started out with it hanging from the rear of the block, but heard stories of a complete engine falling to the ground from old block issues, so we welded a bracket to mount it from the exhaust ports. Much more stable. Playing it safe.

This could be what we're leading up to. :D
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That looks real neat Darol
Guys like you who have the ability to do things like this amase me
I would be bored in 10 minutes and be looking for someone to finish it
No patience
 
Jon said:
That looks real neat Darol
Guys like you who have the ability to do things like this amase me
I would be bored in 10 minutes and be looking for someone to finish it
No patience
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I sure wouldn't be in the flooring business .
 
Darol Wester said:
No we didn't. We just went stock on this one. We've got 6 more to play with and probably the next one we'll soup up some. Got some Edelbrock heads and intake for two deuces and a set of headers for it t'boot.



It's not light weight is it?:D We started out with it hanging from the rear of the block, but heard stories of a complete engine falling to the ground from old block issues, so we welded a bracket to mount it from the exhaust ports. Much more stable. Playing it safe.

This could be what we're leading up to. :D
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Just what i need for my lawn mower .
 
Jon said:
That looks real neat Darol
Guys like you who have the ability to do things like this amase me
I would be bored in 10 minutes and be looking for someone to finish it
No patience
Click to expand...

You would be surprised how wrapped up you can get in projects. I did old cars for a while and then furniture.
It isn't fancy, but my MIL gave me an old tilt trailer that I am working on now.
 
Darol Wester said:
No we didn't. We just went stock on this one. We've got 6 more to play with and probably the next one we'll soup up some. Got some Edelbrock heads and intake for two deuces and a set of headers for it t'boot.



It's not light weight is it?:D We started out with it hanging from the rear of the block, but heard stories of a complete engine falling to the ground from old block issues, so we welded a bracket to mount it from the exhaust ports. Much more stable. Playing it safe.

This could be what we're leading up to. :D
Click to expand...

So are you splurging now and getting head studs like the engine in the photo instead of those stock wimpy bolts? :D
.........just in case you find a blower under another tree? :D
 
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I'm not sure what setup he's got on those heads. Kinda looks like studs, but hard to tell. They stopped using the studs in the middle 40's and went to bolts. Have to assume it was progress??? Certainly easier to work on.
 

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